Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

Civilization as we know it will not survive unless we can finda way to live without fossil fuels.DAVID GOLDSTEINCRITICAL THINKING1. Just to continue using oil at the current rate (not theprojected higher exponential rate), we must discover andadd to global oil reserves the equivalent of a new SaudiArabian supply (the world’s largest) every 10 years. Doyou believe this is possible? If not, what effects might thishave on your life and on the life of a child or grandchildyou might have?2. List five actions you can take to reduce your dependenceon oil and gasoline derived from it. Which do youactually plan to do?3. Explain why you are for or against continuing to increaseoil imports in the United States or in the countrywhere you live. If you favor reducing dependence on oilimports, list the three best ways to do this.4. Explain why you agree or disagree with the followingproposals by various energy analysts to help solve U.S.energy problems: (a) find and develop more domesticsupplies of oil, (b) place a heavy federal tax on gasolineand imported oil to help reduce the waste of oil resources,(c) increase dependence on nuclear power, and(d) phase out all nuclear power plants by 2025.5. What do you believe should be done with high-levelradioactive wastes? Explain.6. Would you favor having high-level nuclear wastetransported by truck or train through the area where youlive to a centralized underground storage site? Explain.What are the options?7. Explain why you agree or disagree with each of thefollowing proposals made by the U.S. nuclear power industry:(a) provide at least $100 billion in governmentsubsidies to build a large number of better-designednuclear fission power plants to reduce dependence onimported oil and slow global warming, (b) prevent thepublic from participating in hearings on licensing newnuclear power plants and on safety issues at the nation’snuclear reactors, (c) restore government subsidies to developa breeder nuclear fission reactor program, and(d) greatly increase federal subsidies for developing nuclearfusion.8. Should the United States and other developed countriesprovide economic and technical aid for closing 35poorly designed and poorly operated nuclear reactors insome republics of the former Soviet Union and in easternEurope? Explain.9. Congratulations! You are in charge of the world. Listthe three most important features of your policy to developnonrenewable energy resources during the next50 years.PROJECTS1. How is the electricity in your community produced?How has the inflation-adjusted cost of that electricitychanged since 1970?2. Write a two-page scenario of what your life might belike without oil. Compare and discuss the scenarios developedby members of your class.3. Use the library or the Internet to find informationabout the accident that took place at the Three Mile Island(TMI) nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,in 1979. According to the nuclear power industry,the TMI accident showed that its safety systems workbecause the accident caused no known deaths. Other analystsargue that the accident was a wake-up call aboutthe potential dangers of nuclear power plants that led totighter and better safety regulations. Use the informationyou find to determine which of these positions you support,and defend your choice.4. Use the library or the Internet to find bibliographic informationabout Maurice Strong and David Goldstein,whose quotes appear at the beginning and end of thischapter.5. Make a concept map of this chapter’s major ideas, usingthe section heads, subheads, and key terms (in boldface).Look on the website for this book for informationabout making concept maps.LEARNING ONLINEThe website for this book contains study aids and manyideas for further reading and research. They include achapter summary, review questions for the entire chapter,flash cards for key terms and concepts, a multiple-choicepractice quiz, interesting Internet sites, references, and aguide for accessing thousands of InfoTrac ® College Editionarticles. Log on tohttp://biology.brookscole.com/miller14Then click on the Chapter-by-Chapter area, choose Chapter17, and select a learning resource.378 CHAPTER 17 Nonrenewable Energy Resources